OPE-L was born two years ago today.
Happy Birthday, OPE-L!
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*** Birthday Statistics (Condensed) ***
* Subscribers: 55 from 15 countries
* Geographic distribution (by continent, rounded off to full #s):
North America 35%
Europe 30%
South & Central America 16%
Asia 13%
Australia 4%
Africa 2%
* # of posts written in last year: 2469
* Participation (overall by current members): 50 of 55 (90.9%)
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I was planning on sending a longer post on this occasion which contained
some very impressive statistics on our performance and growth during the
last year. But, I don't feel well enough yet to spend the time and energy
preparing that post. So instead I will say simply that, in my judgment, we
are a tremendous success story and we have a lot that we can be proud of.
I also want to add that I don't think that there has ever been a time in
the history of Marxism that so many Marxists from different theoretical
traditions and nations have ever communicated with each other seriously
(and comradely) on issues related to political economy ("extending Marx"
subjects included).
In the last year we haven't come to many agreements. On the other hand,
our discussions have been very serious, intense, and respectful. Flames,
thankfully, have been *very* few and far between and we have continued to
treat each other in a good faith and comradely way. For a two-year-old, we
are very mature indeed.
I remain very excited about the promise and potential of OPE-L. We have
already had many extended, engaged, and fruitful discussions. In our next
year, there is every reason to believe that this trend will continue
(despite the recent "summer slump").
What are some of the topics that you would like to see us discuss in the
next year?
In solidarity, Jerry